The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore
Directed by Francis Lawrence
The games may be over but the stakes are much higher in the third installment as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 dispenses with frantic chases through foliage in favour of some Wag the Dog-style political themes.
We initially find Katniss (Lawrence) untrusting and disorientated about her current surroundings after being dramatically airlifted out of the jungle at the end of Catching Fire. She soon settles into her role as symbol of the rebellion under the keen eye of Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), then teams up with a film director (Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer) and her crew to shoot propaganda pieces to drum up support for the rebel cause and take down the nation’s capital.
The ideas explored in this area of the film are intriguing and thought-provoking as the franchise stretches its socio-political ideas even further.
Unfortunately, it also marks a dialogue-heavy penultimate chapter that is relatively free of truly gripping action, something the series has embraced strongly so far.
The move to deliberately split the final book into two movies has been done before in the Harry Potter and Twilight universes and they make for satisfying finales but at the expense of part one in each case. Director Francis Lawrence possesses a strong grasp of what works in the series but something is still missing. For all its strong execution, confident acting and complex ideas, Mockingjay – Part 1 still feels oddly like a bridge rather than a powerful standalone film.
